24th  Congress,  [  Kep.   No.    121.   1  Ho.  of  Repk^ 

2d   Session.  l         r  j  . ^ 


ILLINOIS  CENTRAL  RAILROAD  COMPANY. 

[To  accompany  hill  W.  R.  No.  519.] 


January  17,   1837. 

Rt'pviiHecl  by  order  of  the  Ilou.se  of  Reprt'senlatives. 


In  the  House  of  Representativks,  U.  S., 

January  17,  1837. 
On  motion  of  Mr  Casey, 
R' solved,  That  bill  No.  519,  being  a  bill  to  authorize  the  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  Company  to  locate  and  consitnict  a  rail-road  through  tlje  public 
lands  of  the  United  States,  and  for  other  purposes,  the  petition  and  charter 
of  said  company,  tog-ether  with  the  report  accompanying  said  bill,  be  printed 
for  the  use  of  this  Houso-. 


March  31,  1836. 
Mr.  <'^.sH:Y,  from  the  Committee  on   Public   Lands,   made  the  following: 

REPORT: 

Trif  Committee  on  Public  Lands,  to  wliidi  u-a^  referred  the  memorial 
of  the  Illinois  Central  Rail-road  Company,  have  had  the  same  under 
consideration,  and  respectfully  subrnit  the  following  report  : 

That  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  approved  ou 
the  16th  .January,  1836,  a  company  was  incorporated,  and  authorized,  and 
empowered  to  locate,  construct,  and  finally  complete  a  rail-road,  com 
mencing  at  or  near  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  river,  in  the  State  of  Illinois, 
thence  north  to  a  point  on  the  Illinois  river,  at  or  near  the  termination  ot 
the  proposed  Illinois  and  Mit^higan  canal,  with  the  right  to  extend  the 
same  to  the  town  of  Ci^ilena,  in  said  State. 

The  character  and  importance  of  the  undertaking,  and  the  propriety  of 
the  Covernment  granting  assistance  in  the  prosecution  and  completion  ol 
the  work,  by  secui  iug  for  a  limited  time  to  said  company  the  right  of  pre- 
emption h)  a  portion  of  the  public  lands  on  each  side  of  the  contemplated 
rail-road,  accordmg  to  the  prayer  of  the  memorialists,  will  more  fully  ap- 
pear from  the  following  statement  of  facts.  It  will  form  a  connecting  link 
with  other  works  of  internal  improvements  by  rail-roads  and  canals  and 
great  natural  highways  of  inteicoamiunication,  which  will  more  or  less 
atfect  the  interests  of  a  large  portion  of  this  Union. 

Illinois  is  situated  in  the  heart  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  bounded  on  the 
west  and  southwest  by  the  great  Father  of  Waters,  on  the  east  and  south- 
£iai(  ii  Rive^,  priuiers. 


.   2  [  Rep.  No.    121.  ] 

east  by  the  Wabash  and  its  parent  river,  the  beautiful  Ohio  ;  and  on  t  e 
north  by  an  artificial  line,  passins^  tbron!:rli  a  region  of  inexhaustible  ini- 
neral  wealth..  These  liniil.:  embrace  a  territory  which  nature  has  left  with- 
out a  rival  on  the  habitable  globe,  in  all  that  atfords  facilities  for  tl.'e  acqui- 
I  sition  of  the  essential  means  of  human  Iiappiness.  At  the  confluence  of 
the  Ohio  atid  i\lis5i.ssippi,  it  is  contemplated  to  commence  the  proposed  rail- 
road, and  run  it  north,  touching  at  the  most  importai.t  points  in  the  interior 
of  the  State,  to  the  contemplated  termination  of  the  Illinois  and  Micliigan 
canal:  continuing  north,  near  said  third  principal  meridian  line,  totownsirip 
42  north  ;  and  thence  it  diverges  to  the  northv/est,  and  terminates  at  Galena, 
i!i  the  very  heart  of  the  mnieral  region  beibre  mentioned. 

The  conmiittec  acknowledge  the  inutlence  of  many  weighty  consider- 
ations i'l  granting  the  prayer  of  the  memorialists.  A  reference  to  the  map 
of  the  country  shows  that  the  work  will  commence  at  a  point  of  uninter- 
rupted navigation,  and,  jiassing  through  a  country  of  great  fertility,  fixes 
its  northern  termination  in  a  region  where  navigation  is  closed  several 
months  in  the  year.  The  line  of  this  road  divides  tlie  western  and  eastern 
boundaries  of  the  State  nearly  at  equal  distances,  and  becomes  more  dis- 
tant as  it  progresses  north,  until  it  unites  with  the  canal  connecting  the 
waters  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Mississippi,  by  which  a  continuous  line  of 
communication  is  opened  into  the  lakes  of  the  north,  the  Canadas,  and  the 
northern  parts  of  the  United  States.  Looking  south,  it  connects  with  a 
navigation  which,  by  means  of  the  Ohio,  penetrates  the  States  of  Indiana, 
Ohio,  Kentucky,  Pennsylvania,  and  Virginia,  to  the  base  of  the  AHegany 
chain  of  mountains,  and  through  the  channels  of  the  Cumberland  and 
Tennessee  rivers  you  enter  the  very  heart  of  the  rich  States  of  Alabama 
and  Tennessee  ;  and  by  tlie  Upper  Mississippi  and  IMissouri,  you  reach  the 
outposts  of  America. 

Through  the  tributaries  of  the  Lower  Mississippi,  the  v.^hole  southvi^est- 
t=rn  world  is  open  to  American  enterprise  ;  and  on  the  bosom  of  the  parent 
river,  every  nation  and  port  known  to  commerce  is  accessible  from  this 
I'egiuning  point  of  tlie  rail-road. 

The  route  of  the  central  rail-road  passes  through  a  country,  the  greater 
part  of  which  lias  been  in  market  for  10,  15,  20,  or  25  years,  which  is 
mainly  ascribable  to  tlie  fact  of  its  remoteness  from  navigation  and  mar- 
kets. It  is  well  known  to  all  observers  that  the  first  settlements  of  new 
countries  are  almost  invariably  confined  to  the  great  rivers.  Such  is  the 
fact  in  relation  to  Illinois.  Another  reason  whicli  has  contribiUed  to  l:eep 
this  land  out  of  the  market  is,  that  large  proportions  of  it  are  prairies  of 
oreat  extent,  which  retards  greatly  the  settlement  of  the  country,  and  which 
difficulty  will  be  neru'l}^  obviated  by  the  construction  of  the  contemplated 
road,  and  the  Government  be  enabled  to  sell  its  unavailable  land  for  many 
miles  contiguous  to  the  route,  and  thus  derive  a  largo  revenue  from  an  lui- 
anticipated  source,  and  from  one  which  would  have  lain  dormant,  and  con- 
sequently without  profit  to  the  State  or  nation,  for  ages  to  come. 

Regarded  thus  in  a  pecuniary  point  of  view,  in  reference  to  the  General 
Government,  the  construction  of  the  road  will  give  vahie  to  immense 
bodies  of  unproductive  wild  lands,  and  considerably  enhance  the  revenues 
of  the  State,  by  subjecting  them  to  taxation. 

The  proposed  central  rail-road  will  follow,  as  nearly  as  practicable,  tlie 
'bird  princ!p;',l  meridian  line,  parsing  through  the  seat  of  Government  of  the 
,':tate;  and  the  other  irincii'il  towns  rn  the  route.     It  will  be  seen  by  & 


[  Rep.  No.   121.  ]  3 

statement  diirived  from  the  departmf^nt  of  the  General  Land  Office,  that 
the  lands  remaining:  nnsold  up  to  a  late  period,  confinins:  the  estimate  to 
the  suid  meridian  lino,  between  the  month  of  tlie  Ohio  and  its  intersection 
of  tlie  llUnois,  with(nit  any  divergence,  and  a  scope  of  live  miles  on  either 
side  thereof,  amoant  to  2,183,830  acres  ;  and  that  383,133  acres  have  heen 
sold,  making  the  entire  quantity  of  pubhc;  lands  on  the  route  2.565,(313 
acres.  Retween  the  point  of  intersection  on  the  Illinois  river,  (the  western 
termination  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  cana!)  and  Galena,  a  distance  by 
estuTiate  of  110  miles,  tlie  unsold  lands  within  the  prescribed  limits  of  five 
miles  on  each  side  of  the  route,  amount  to  061,120  acres. 

As  gigantic  as  the  proposed  project  is  regarded  in  every  point  of  view, 
whether  for  its  extent,  (being  from  150  to  500  miles  in  length,)  the  newness 
of  the  country  in  and  through  which  its  constrnction  is  contemplated,  its 
unsurpassed  fertility  and  adaptation  to  agricultural  pursuits,  the  prospective 
utility  of  the  road  to  the  nation,  and  present  advantage  to  the  State,  and  being 
entirely  pr;i.cticable,  it  will  be  undertaken  and  finis:hed,  but  much  more 
speedily  by  the  giant  of  the  privilege  prayed  for. 

When  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio  are  fast  bound  up  in  ice,  troops  and 
munitions  of  war  can  be  transferred,  with  a  rapidity  and  despatch  unknown 
to  water  transportation,  to  the  frontiers  of  Illinois,  Wisconsin,  and  northern 
Missouri,  whence  theycan  be  stretched  along  the  lines  of  these  frontiers  in 
•an  incalculably  short  period  of  time. . 

The  northern  termination  of  the  road  is  situated  in  the  centre  of  the 
lead  region.  At  all  times  and  seasons  this  valuable  article  of  trade  can  be 
brought  south,  and  thence  to  any  military  point  or  commercial  mart  in  the 
Union.  The  lead  in  this  region  is  inexhaustible,  and  will  afford  a  suffi- 
ciency to  supply  the  wants  of  the  country  botli  in  peace  and  war.  Re- 
garded as  the  groundwork  of  a  system  of  internal  improvement  aboutbeing 
commenced  in  Illinois,  it  is  of  paramount  importance  to  the  public  interests. 
This  road  will  be  regarded  as  the  grand  stem,  from  which  will  diverge 
works  of  a  similar  kind,  to  coimect  with  every  road  or  canal  of  importance 
which  the  enterprise  of  the  neighboring  States  may  undertake,  pointing  in 
the  direction  of  Illinois.  A  branch  is  contemplated  to  St.  Louis,  whereby 
an  unbroken  line  of  rail-road  will  be  m;tde  to  the  northwestern  limits  of 
Missouri ;  another  to  unite  with  the  Wabash  and  Erie  canal ;  thus  epening 
to  every  citizen  of  Illinois  a  direct  communication  with  the  northern 
States  of  the  Union.  In  a  word,  branch  roads,  it  may  be  confidently  calcu- 
lated, will  be  co:^.strncted  to  every  important  town  or  commercial  position 
on  tke  borders  of  the  State.  Considered,  then,  as  a  facility  of  carrying  out 
a  system  about  undergoing  the  action  of  Congress,  for  tiie  transportation 
of  the  United  States  mail,  it  should  be  regarded  in  a  most  favorable  light. 
It  js  also  in  contemplation  (and  recent  experience  proves  that  it  is  only 
necessary  to  conceive  a  v.-ork  of  internal  improvement,  to  carry  it  into 
etiect,)  to  extend  the  road  from  the  mouth  of  the  Oiiio  to  Nashville,  in  the 
State  of  Tennessee,  to  meet  the  projected  road  from  tliat  city  to  New  Or- 
leans, and  to  unite  with  branches  oi'  the  great  Charleston  project,  and  the 
contemplated  Baltimore  and  Ohio  and  Richmond  rail-roads. 

The  completion  of  tlu'se  great  works  would  identify  the  intfrests  uf  the 
whole  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  and  bring  the  west  and  the  south  into  the 
most  intimate  communion.  Viewing  this  subject  in  every  possible  point 
of  light,  as  creating  at  its  southern  termiiiaiion  a  commercial  emporium  of 
great  future  consequence  to  the  commerce  of  the  western  States.  u\  whicu 


4  -    [  Rep.  No.    121.  ] 

will  concentrate  the  trude  from  the  sonrce.s  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouru 
the  mineral  regions  of  the  north  and  southern  Missouri,  the  manufac- 
tures of  the  Ohio  and  tributaries,  the  rich  products  of  the  soutiiern  country, 
brought  in  exchange  lor  the  superabundant  productions  of  the  rich  soils  of 
Illinois;  or  as  giving  value  to  millions  of  acres  of  the  public  domain,  which 
are  now  wholly  worthless  and  unsaleable  ;  or  as  enhancing  the  revenues  of 
the  State,  and  contributing  to  its  welfare  and  prosperity,  in  the  increase  of 
its  population,  wealth,  and  intelligence,  and  in  direct  and  positive  benefits 
to  the  people;  or  as  creating  great  facilities  in  the  conveyance  of  the  mail, 
the  transportation  of  troops  and  munitions  of  war  from  one  extreme  of  the. 
country  to  anotlier,  at  all  seaso)ts  of  the  year,  in  one-fourth  of  the  time 
and  at  oie-half  the  expense  now  reqnircd :  or  its  effects  upon  the  social 
and  political  relations  of  a  large  portion  of  the  xVmerican  people,  or  their 
public  or  their  private  interests;  it  operates  upon  each  and  all  in  the  most 
beneficial  manner. 

The  committee  will  not  permit  themselves  to  doubt  the  final  decision  of 
the  House  on  this  subject,  especially  when  it  is  recollected  that  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  very  land  to  which  the  right  of  pre-emption  is  asked,  miless  the 
road  be  made,  will  remain  tor  many  years,  as  millions  of  acres  now  are, 
valueless  and  unsaleable  on  the  hands  of  the  Government ;  and  that 
sound  policy  in  relation  to  the  value  and  sale  of  the  immense  districts  of 
lands  owned  by  the  United  States,  almost  exclusively,  through  which  the 
road  would  pass,  would  be  to  make  the  grant  asked  lor.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  but  that  three  times  the  amount  that  could  now  be  realized  for  those 
lands,  would,  on  the  completion  of  the  work,  be  immediately  reimbursed  by 
the  increased  value  and  ready  sale  of  the  adjacent  lands,  a  large  portion  of 
which,  from  their  remoteness  from  highways,  and  other  causes,  are  now 
nearly,  if  not  altogether,  without  value.  The  correspondence  before  alluded 
to,  with  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office,  together  with  a 
mat)  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  is  appended  to  and  made  a  part  of  this  report. 

The  committee  report  a  bill  in  conformity  with  the  prayer  of  the  memo- 
rialists. 


Hou.sk  ok  Representatives, 

March  25.  183G. 
Sir  :  The  memorial  of  the  Illinois  Central  Rail-road  Company,  incor- 
porated by  c-'U  act  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  for  the  purpose 
of  «-.<)iistructing  a  rail-road  from  a  point  at  or  near  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio 
river,  to  the  termination  of  the  proposed  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal,  on 
the  liliiiois  river,  witli  the  right  to  extend  the  same  to  the  town  of  Galena, 
in  said  State,  praying  for  the  right  of  pre-em[)tion  to  a  portion  of  the  public 
lands  through  which  said  rail-road  may  b3  located,  has  been  referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Public  liands  of  th"  House  of  Kepresentativ^cs.  In 
order  to  enable  the  committee  to  judge  of  the  propriety  of  reporting- a  bill 
in  accordance  with  the  prayer  of  .said  meujorial,  will  you  have  the  good- 
ne>s,  at  your  (  arlicst  convenience,  to  furnish  the  committee  with  a  state- 
ment, showing  the  quantity  of  land  that  has  been  disposed  of  by  the  Gov- 
emmenr,  aiui  the  ipiantity  still  wwued  by  the  United  States,  within  five 
miles  in  width,  on  each  side  of  the  third  principal  meridian  line  in  the  State 
of  Illinois,   from   a  point  on  the  Ohio  river   where  said  third  principal 


[  Rep.  No.   121.  ]  5 

nieridinn  lino  intersects  the  same,  north,  to  a  point  on  the  lUinois  river 
where  said  line  crosses  said  river;  and  also  the  quantity  of  land  tliat  has 
])een  disposed  of  by  the  Government,  and  the  cpiuntify  still  owned  by  the 
Un' ted  States,  within  five  miles  in  width,  on  each  side  of  a  straight  line,  east 
from  the  hist  point  aforesaid,  to  the  town  of  Galena,  in  said  .State  of  IJJiiiois. 
1  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully, 

Your  most  obedient  servant, 

z.  c:asey 

E.   A.  Brown,  Ks(j. 

Commissionc)-  nf  tlip  General  Ldiui  Offirf:. 


Gkneral   f_iANu  Office. 

March  26,  183(3. 

Sir  :  In  your  letter  of  the  25th  instant,  you  request  to  be  furnished  with 
n  statement  showing  the  quantity  of  land  disposed  of  by  the  Government, 
and  the  quantity  still  owned  by  the  United  States,  within  five  miles  in 
width,  on  each  side  of  the  third  principal  meridian  line  in  the  State  of 
Illinois,  from  a  point  on  the  Oiuo  river  where  said  third  principal  meridian 
line  intersects  the  same,  north,  to  a  point  on  the  Illinois  river  where  said 
line  crosses  said  river;  and,  also, 

The  quantity  of  land  that  has  been  disposed  of  by  the  Government,  and 
the  quantity  still  owned  by  the  United  States,  within  five  miles  in  width, 
on  each  side  of  a  straight  line  east  from  the  last  point  aforesaid,  to  the 
town  of  Galena,  in  the  said  State  of  Illinois. 

Prom  t!ie  verbal  explanation  which  I  had  yesterday  the  honor  to  make, 
you  aie  av.''aTe  of  the  dilliculties  in  the  way  of  preparing  such  statements 
as  you  require,  by  reason  of  the  heavy  arrears  of  sales  remaining  to  be 
registered  in  the  tract  books  of  this  office. 

Under  tliese  circumstances  of  official  embarrassment,  1  am  enabled  only- 
Jo  estimate^  as  nearly  as  practicable,  the  particulars  you  desire  ;  and  the 
tbllowing  are  the  results  : 

l''irst. — Total  quantity  of  five  sections  on  each  side  of 
the  tliird  principal  meridian  from  the  Ohio  river  to  the 
river  Illinois,  estimated  .  .  .  .     1.861.013  acres. 

Sold  and  otherwise  disposed  of  by  the  United  Stales       -        340,253     '• 

Vacant  -  -     1,521,360     " 

Second. — Estimated  distance  of  the  line  from  the  Illinois 

river  to  Galena,  110  miles,  ten  sections  to  a  mile  -        704,000     " 

JS.ild,  estimated  -  -  -  -  -  42,880     " 

Vacant  -  -        661.120     '• 


Transmitted  herewith   is  a  map  of  the  route  described  in  your  com- 
munication. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be. 

Sir,  vour  obedient  servant. 

ETHAN  A  BROWN. 
Hon.  Zadok  Casey, 

of  the  Comr/tittee  on  Public  Lands,  H.  R. 


6  •  [  Rep.  No.   121.  ] 

xMEMORIAL 

To  the  honorable  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  the  Utiited 

States  : 

"  The  Illinois  Central  Rail-road  Company,"  incorporated  ny  an  act  of 
the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  a 
rail-road  from  the  month  of  the  Ohio  river  to  the  termination  of  the  pro- 
posed Illinois  and  jjiciiigan  canal,  on  the  Ilunois  river,  witli  the  right  to 
extend  the  same  to  the  town  of  Galena,  in  said  State,  respectfnlly  desire  to 
subnjit  to  the  Nstional  Legislature  some  of  their  views  of  the  character 
and  importance  of  the  undertaking,  and  the  propriety  of  the  Government's 
granting  assi;,tancc  in  the  prosecution  and  coinpletion  of  the  work,  by  se- 
curing for  a  limited  time  to  yonr  mcn-iorialists  the  right  of  pre-emption  to 
a  portion  of  the  public  domain  on  each  side  of  the  contemplated  road,  and 
by  making  to  them  a  grant  of  lands. 

Commencing  in  the  southernmost  .::tre;i, it;;  of  Illinois,  at  the  confluence 
of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi,  two  majestic  rivers,  which  and  their  tributa- 
ries water  a  large  and  important  portion  of  the  United  States,  a  point  al- 
ways accessible  to  boats  of  the  largest  dimeiisions  from  the  lower  sections 
of  the  latter  river,  whose  navigation  is  seldom  or  never  obstructed  so  far 
down  as  this  place  by  low  water  or  ice,  stationary  or  floating;  passing 
through  the  centre  of  the  Stale  to  its  northern  boundary,  and  extending 
through  a  territory  of  great  iertihty,  blessed  with  a  climate  mild  and  salu- 
brious, afibrding  the  means  of  bringing  to  the  extensive  prairies  of  this 
fiiie  territory  tlie  coal,  and  vv^ocd,  and  materials  valuable  for  buildings  alid 
fences,  and  so  abuiulant  in  some  parts  of  the  country,  particularly  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  Stale,  tfiis  rail-road  cannot  foil,  to  be  a  work  equal  in 
importance  to  the  whole  nation,  and  to  any  tiling  of  the  kind  yet  devised, 
and  vastly  more  important  to  this  State  than  any  wliich  can  le  projected. 

Your  memoiialisls  deem  it  highly  important  in  a  national  point  of  view, 
because  they  regard  it  as  a  principal  link  in  the  chain  of  comnuuiication 
which  is  now  in  preparation  to  bind  together  in  close  and  firm  union  the 
soutlieastern  and  norllnvestern  States.  The  day,  it  is  confidently  believed, 
is  not  far  distant,  Vv'hen  the  rail-road  now  in  ])rogress  from  the  city  of 
Charleston,  in  South  Carolina,  and  profjosed  to  be  extended  by  Nashville, 
in  Tennessee,  to  Cincinnati,  as  well  as  the  New  Orleans  rail -road,  whicli 
will  soon  be  made  to  Nashville,  whence  it  can  easily  be  extended  the  smrJl 
distance,  and  the  niost  valuable  part  of  the  wht'e  route  of  either  road 
from  tlie  last  mentioned  place  to  the  confluence  of  those  majestic  rivers. 
and  where  the  '•  Illinois  Central  Kail-rond"  is  to  commence  ;  thus  opening 
a  direct,  speedy,  and  safe  communication  from  the  norlhwest  to  a  city  in 
the  southeast  part  of  the  United  States,  possessing  one  of  the  best  and 
safest  harbors  in  the  world,  and  justly  the  boast  and  pride  of  the  south. 

This  road,  thus  completed  and  traversing  North  and  South  Carolina,  Al- 
abama, Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  and  Illinois,  and 
extending  diagonally  from  one  corner  of  the  nation  to  the  other,  will  facili- 
tate the  excliangc  oi'  the  mineral  riches,  and  wheat,  and  other  products  of 
the  northwest,  for  the  cotton,  sugar,  coftbe,  rice,  and  oilier  agricultural 
wealth  of  the  southern  States  and  West  Indies,  as  well  as  for  the  goods  im- 
ported from  abroad.  It  will  serve  to  bring  directly  to  the  west,  in  payment 
for  the  leadj  beef,  pork,  wheat,  and  other  products  of  western  industry,  the 


[  Eep.  No.    lai.    1  7 

wealth  of  the  south,  to  be  employed  in  making  improvements  where  they 
are  most  needed  and  subject  to  use;  and,  if  possible,  render  more  beautiful 
the  lovely  plains  of  the  west.  It  will  introduce  to  an  intimate  acquaintance, 
and  'nnd  in  ties  of  friendship  as  well  as  of  interest,  the  planters  of  tbe  south 
and  the  farmers,  their  fellow-citizens,  of  the  -'far  west/'  Their  intercourse 
being  so  easy  and  immediate  as  it  then  will  be,  and  promoting  in  so  emi- 
nent a  degree,  as  it  will,  the  interests  of  all  concerned,  cannot  but  increase  ; 
and  the  bands  of  Union,  thus  formed,  will  grow  forever  stronger  and  more 
indisso'uble. 

Tjie  great  space  between  the  ends  of  this  immense  highway  of  nations 
will  be  dhninishcd,  as  it  were,  to  a  j.oint :  and  the  inhabitants  of  States 
now  far  di-;tant,  and  utter  strangers,  and,  pt^rhaps,  in  some  degree  regarding 
each  other  with  eyes  of  jealousy  and  suspicion,  will,  by  this  means,  be  brought 
into  near  neighborhood  and  ultimate  acquaintance  ;  nay,  into  friendship 
secured  by  strong  ties  of  interest. 

Your  memorialists  having  taken  a  cursory  viev\^  of  the  advantages  of  this 
magnificent  work,  growing  out  of  the  relations  of  the  States  to  each'  other 
through  which  it  is  to  be  made,  and  of  others  adjacent  to  them,  (not  with 
any  intention  of  enumerating  the  one-half,  much  less  of  discussmg  their 
inestimable  importance,  which,  in  many  respects,  is  believed  to  be  self-evident,) 
beg  leave  to  advert  for  a  moment  to  it  as  a  safeguard  of  the  Government, 
and  a  means  of  carrying  on,  with  incr^-'ased  facility,  its  operations. 

Your  memorial'sts  will  not  dwell  on  the  greater  security  and  iiicreased 
speed  with  which  the  mail  can  be  transported  in  a  rail -road  car  to  and  from 
the  remotest  parts  of  our  widely  extended  country :  though  this,  of  itself,  it 
is  believed,  -(tibrds  a  sutficient  reason  wiry  the  C4ovcrnraent  would  act  wise- 
ly by  extending  a  helping  hand  to  accomplish  a  work  in  this  respect  so 
desirable.  But,  when  it  is  considered  that  so  soon  as  this  road  shall  have 
been  completed  from  the  city  of  Charleston,  in  South  Carolina,  to  Galena, 
on  the  upper  Mississippi,  the  troops,  munitions  of  war,  and  military  stores, 
and  supplies  of  the  United  States,  can  be  trjuisported  from  the  extreme 
southeast  on  the  Atlantic,  to  the  extreme  northwest  on  the  Mississippi,  v/ith 
a  speed  and  security  so  much  greater  than  would  be  practicable  without  its 
aid;  reasons  from  this  quarter  flow  in  apace  with  powerful  conviction  in 
the  mind  of  every  patriot  and  statesman,  why  the  General  Government 
sliould  exert  an  active  energy,  and  bestow  with  a  liberal  hand,  towards  the 
completion  of  this  great  work. 

Suppose,  however,  it  should  be  thouglit  your  memorialists  entertain  mis- 
taken views  of  the  national  importance  of  this  undertaking  in  wliich  they 
are  euijaged ;  that  it  is  not  to  be  so  valuable  as  they  deein  it,  in  carrying 
on  trade  and  commerce  befvvreen  the  distant  and  dissimilar  parts  of  our 
common  country,  in  subserving  their  mutual  and  respective  interests,  and 
in  binding  them  together  in  the  bands  of  lasting  friendship ;  that,  as  a  se- 
cin-ity  and  protection  to  the  Government  itself,  and  as  the  means  of  trans- 
porting the  mail  and  the  troops,  military  stores,  supplies,  and  munitions  of 
war,  it  is  overrated;  still  it  is  to  be  considered  that  a  great  portion  of  the 
route  of  the  proposed  road  in  this  State  is  to  pass  tlirough  an  extended  and 
almost  uninterrupted  prairie,  which,  though  fertile,  is  destitute,  in  a  great 
me?.sure,  of  the  fuel  and  timber  necessary  to  its  cultivation  and  habitation  ; 
and  that,  without  the  aid  of  such  road,  it  c;mnot.  for  many  years  to  come, 
be  prolhably  occupied,  and  will  not  afford  sufficient  induccmeiU  to  its  set- 
tlement; and  in  all  human  probability.  l"or  a  long  time,  if  ever,  only  portio:  s 
of  it,  small  in  comparison  with  the  whole,  will  find  a  purchaser,  owing 


S  [  Rep.  No.   121.  ] 

to  Its  distance  from  timber  ond  the  inconvenience  of  procuting  fuel 
aiid  materials  for  bnildintrs  and  fences;  and  that  by  this  road  Jho.soUiings 
will  he  abundantly  and  easily  supplied  from  the  numerous  coal  banks'it 
will  pass  ov.er,  and  the  dense  forests  in  the  southern  part  of  the  State  ;  and 
that  the  sales  of  public  lands  long  in  market,  and  long  but  for  this  to  re- 
main so.  will  be  accelerated  and  greatly  increased  in  amount.  This  latter 
consideration,  growing  out  of  the  proprietory  interest  of  the  United  States 
in  the  soil,  affords,  it  is  thought,  a  strong  reason  why  the  Government 
should,  even  if  its  view  and  action  were  to  be  confined  to  the  increase  and 
raising  of  a  revenue,  assist  efficiently  in  the  prorecution  of  this  work,  by 
making  to  your  memorialists  a  liberal  donation  in  lands,  and  by  securing  to 
(hem  for  a  reasonable  time  a  pre-emption  right  to  the  whole."  or  a  portion 
of  the  public  lands  within  a  given  distance,  on  each  side  of  this  rail-road. 

The  advantage  of  the  proposed  road  to  the  present  interests  and  future 
prosperity  and  wealth  of  Illinois — a  thing,  m  the  opinion  of  your  memorial- 
ists.notto  be  overlooked  by  the  National  Legislature— besides  the  benefits  it 
will  enjoy  in  common  with  the  otiier  States  through  which  it  is  to  pass,  in. 
the  increased  value  of  her  land  and  its  products,  in  the  facilities  it  will 
afford  to  the  central  and  healtliy  parts  of  the  State  for  conveying  away  to 
market  those  products  speedily  and  safely,  and  for  obtaining  from  abroad 
I  he  necessary  snpplies  of  articles  of  foreign  growth  or  fobrication  ;  in  bring- 
ing into  notice  and  cultivation,  and  subjecting  to  taxation,  a  large  quantity  of 
lands  wljich  otherwise  may,  and  doubtless  will,  long  remain  as  ihej^  now 
are.  the  wild  and  uncultivatedproperty  ofthe  public,  and  in  other  various  and 
inaiierous  ways  too  obvious  to  require  specification,will  not.  because  it  cannot, 
be  questioned,  is  above  all  estimate,  and,  being  apparent,  needs  not  to  be  urged. 
Tiie  point  where  the  road  will  commence  in  this  State,  as  before  stated,  is 
one  to  which  boats  ofthe  largest  size  come  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  and 
one  to  which  a  rail  road  from  the  city  of  Cliarleston,  in  South  Carolina,  will 
doubtless  soon  be  made.  It  extends  thence  through  the  centre  ofthis  State,  near 
tbe  third  principal  meridian,  to  the  termination  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan 
canal  on  the  Illinois  river,  now  to  be  actively  prosecuted  a  distance  of  up- 
A'/ards  of  three  hundred  miles,  and  from  thence  to  Galena,  upwards  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  miles  further  :  moking,  in  all,  a  distance  from  its  com- 
mencement to  its  termination  at  the  town  of  Galena,  of  between  four  and 
five  hundred  miles  ;  and  if  completed,  as  is  contemplated  and  confidently 
expected,  it  will  redound  to  (he.  lasting  prosperity,  and  secure  the  future  in- 
dependence ofthis  State:  and  will,  for  ages  to  come,  be  its  boast  and  its 
y:lory,  and  it  will  become  a  monument  reared  to  tbe  enterprise  and  industry 
of  those  who  accomplish  the  work,  and  is  worthy  the  patronage  of  a  great, 
powerful,  and  enligl;tened  nation. 

In  conclusion,  your  memorialists,  for  the  foregoing  reasons,  and  for  many 
more,  which  the  subject  itself  will  suggest  to  the  wisdom  and  foresight  of 
Congress,  pray  that  such  a  donation  in  lands,  as  the  importance  of  the  sub- 
ject may  indicate  as  reasonable  and  proper,  may  be  made  to  said  company; 
and  that  a  pre-emption  right. to  the  whole,  or  a  portion  ofthe  public  lands 
iyin^-  immediately  on  the  route  of  said  road,  v/itiiin  a  distance  to  be  specified 
on  e:»c!i  side  thereof,  may  be  secured  to  them  for  a  reasonable  time,  within 
which  it  mav  be  practicable  to  complete  the  same. 

A.  M.  JENKINS, 

President  of  the  Illinois  Cendal  Rail-Road  Co. 
D.  B.  IIOLBROOK, 

Treasurer  of  the  Illinois  Central  Rail-Road  Co. 


[  Rep.  No.   121.  ]  9 

AN  ACT  to  inrnrporiiie  the  Illinni-  r.^iifcil  Rail-road  Cunipany.  January.  lH3f>. 

.Sr-;c'i'iON  1.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  people  of  the  State  of  Jllinois.  repre- 
sented in  the  General  Assemblij,  That  Williuni  Wilson.  Alexander  M.  .Fen- 
kins,  David  .1.  Baker,  .folin  8.  Hacker,  lT(Miry  Eddy,  Wilson  Able,  Elijah 
Williams,  Joel  Manninn;,  Richard  (i.  Murphy,  Pierre  Menard,  Miles  A.  (Jil- 
bert,  Francis  Swanwick.  .lohn  Ileynolds,  Alfred  Cowles,  Harry  Wilton, 
Sidney  Breese,  John  V).  Wood,  Charles  Prentice,  John  Dcrrnent,  William 
R  Thornton.  William  Williamson,  Jolm  V.  Henry,  M.  S.  Covill,  Lovell 
Kimbah,  John  M.  Krum,  1).  B.  Holbrook,  Simon  M.  Hubbard,  James 
HiigliCv^,  Albert  CJ.  Snyder.  Wm.  (1.  Reddick,  G.  S.  Hubbcird,  Daniel  W^ann, 
.Tohn  Taylor,  I'jlijah  lies,  Tliomas  Mather,  John  Todd,  A.  G.  Henry,  James 
Thompson,  Gabriel  Jone.-^',  William  Adair,  Robert  Iv.  Mclianghlin,  Henry 
Smith,  William  Linn.  Jesse  C.  tjockwood,  Abraham  Irvin,  Daniel  Marshall, 
Daniel  F^'jeld,  George  H.  Hannah,  Samuel  S.  Chapman,  .Tohn  Dunn,  Wil- 
liam W.  Roman,  layman  Adams,  James  Mitchell.  William  Welsh,  Nathan 
Horner,  Tliomas  B.  Afflick,  and  Porter  Clay,  their  associates,  successors, 
and  assigns,  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  made  a  body  politic  and  corporate,  under 
the  name  of  the  •■  Iij.inois  Ckntrai.  R ail-road  Compaxv,"  and  by  that 
name  shall  be,  and  are  hereby  made  capable,  in  law  and  equity,  to  sue  and  be 
sued,  plead  and  be  impleaded,  defend  and  be  defended,  in  any  court  or  place 
whatsoever  :  to  make,  have,  and  use  a  common  seal,  and  the  same  to  renew 
and  alter  at  pleasure  ;  and  by  that  name  and  style  be  capable  in  law  of  pur- 
chasing, liolding.  and  conveying  away  real  and  personal  estate,  for  thepur- 
()ose.s  and  uses  of  said  corporation  ;  and  Miall  he,  and  are  hereby,  vested  with 
all  the  powers,  privilesfes,  and  immunities,  AAHiich  are,  or  may  be  necessary 
to  carry  into  eifect  the  purposes  and  objects  of  this  act,  as  hereinafter  set 
for'h  ;  and  the  said  corporation  are  hereby  authorized  and  empowered  to  lo- 
cate, construct,  and  linallv  complete  a  rail-road,  commencing  at  or  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Ohio  river,  and  thence  north  to  a  point  on  the  Ulinois  river,  at 
or  near  the  termination  of  the  Illinois  and  Michigan  canal,  in  such  manner 
and  form  as  they  shall  deem  to  be  most  expedient;  aiad,  for  this  purpose, 
said  company  are  liereby  authorized  to  lay  out  their  road,  not  exceeding 
eight  rods  wide,  through  its  whole  length  ;  and  for  the  purpose  of  cuttings, 
embankments,  and  procuring  stone  or  gravel,  may  take  as  much  more  land, 
as  may  be  necessary  tor  the  proper  construction  and  security  of  said  road: 
Provided,  koircver,  That  all  damages  that  maybe  occasioned  to  any  person 
or  corporation,  by  the  taking  of  such  land  or  materials  for  the  purposes 
aforesaid,  shall  be  paid  for  by  said  company,  in  the  manner  hereinafter  pro- 
vided. 

Se<t.  2.  The  capital  stock  of  said  company  shall  consist  of  twenty-five 
thousand  shares,  of  one  hundred  dollars  each  ;  and  the  immediate  govern- 
ment and  direction  of  the  affairs  of  said  company  shall  be  vested  in  a  board 
of  not  less  than  five  directors,  who  shall  be  chosen  by  the  members  of  the  cor- 
poration, in  the  manner  hereinafter  provided,  and  shall  hold  their  offices 
until  others  shall  lie  duly  elected  and  qualified  to  take  their  places  as  direct- 
ors ;  and  the  said  directors,  a  majority  of  whom  shall  form  a  quorum  tor 
the  transaction  of  business,  shall  elect  one  of  their  number  to  be  president 
of  the  board,  who  shall  also  be  president  of  the  company :  and  shall  have 
authority  to  choose  a  clerk,  who  shall  bo  sworn  to  the  faithful  discharge  of 
his  duty  5  and  a  treasurer,  who  shall  give  bonds  to  the  corporation,  witli 


10  [  Rep.  No.  121.  ] 

sureties,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  directors,  in  a  sum  not  less  than  twenty 
tJiousand  dollars,  for  the  faithful  discharge  of  his  trust. 

Sect.  3.  The  president  and  directors  for  the  time  being  are  hereby 
authorized  and  empowered,  by  themselves,  or  their  agents,  to  exercise  all  the 
powers  herein  granted  to  the  company  for  the  purpose  of  locating,  con- 
structing, and  completing  said  rail-road,  and  for  the  transportation  of  per- 
sons, goods,  and  merchandise,  and  all  such  other  powers  and  authority  for 
the  management  of  the  atfairs  of  the  company,  not  heretofore  granted,  as 
may  be  necessary  and  proper  to  carry  into  effect  the  objects  of  this  com- 
pany ;  to  purchase  and  hold  lands,  materials,  engines,  cars,  and  other  neces- 
sary tilings,  in  tlie  name  of  the  company,  for  the  use  of  the  road,  and  for 
the  transportation  of  persons,  goods,  and  merchandise;  to  make  such  equal 
assessments,  froai  time  to  time,  on  all  the  shares  in  said  corporation,  as  they 
may  deem  expedient  and  necessary  in  the  execution  and-  progress  of  the 
work,  and  direct  the  same  to  be  paid  to  the  treasurer  of  the  company,  and 
the  treasurer  shall  give  notice  of  all  such  assessments  ;  and  in  case  any  sub- 
scriber shall  neglect  to  pay  his  assessment  for  the  space  of  thirty  days  after 
due  notice  by  the  treasurer  of  said  company,  the  directors  may  order  the 
treasurer  to  sell  such  share  or  shares  at  public  auction,  after  giving  due 
notice  thereof,  to  the  highest  bidder,  and  the  same  shall  be  transferred  to 
the  purchaser,  and  such  delinquent  subscriber  shall  be  held  accountable 
to  the  company  for  the  balance,  if  his  share  or  shares  shall  sell  for  less  than 
the  assessment  due  thereon,  with  interest  and  costs  of  sale,  and  shall  be  en- 
titled to  the  overplus,  if  his  share  or  shares  shall  sell  for  more  than  the  as- 
sessment due,  with  interest  and  costs  t)f  sale:  Pi'ovided^  however,  That  no 
assessment  shall  be  laid  upon  any  shares  in  said  company,  of  a  greater 
amount  in  the  whole  than  one  hundred  dollars  on  a  share. 

Sect.  4.  The  said  company  shall  have  power  to  make,  ordain,  and  estab- 
lish all  such  by-laws,  rules,  and  regulations,  and  ordinnnces,  as  they  may 
deem  expedient  and  necessary  to  accomplish  the  designs  and  purposes, 
and  to  carry  into  effect  the  provisions  of  this  act,  and  ior  the  transfer  and 
assignment  of  its  stock,  and  the  conveyance  of  property,  and  the  well-order- 
ing, regulating,  and  securing  of  the  interests  and  affairs  of  the  company  : 
Proi)idcd,  The  same  be  not  repugnant  to  the  constitution  and  laws  of  this 
State,  or  of  the  United  States. 

Sect.  5.  A  toll  is  hereby  granted  and  established  for  the  sole  benefit 
of  said  company,  upon  all  passengers  and  property  of  all  descriptions,  which 
may  be  conveyed  or  transported  upon  said  road,  at  such  rates  per  mile  as 
may  bo  agreed  upon  and  establislied,  from  time  to  time,  by  the  directors  of 
said  company.  The  transportation  of  persons  and  property,  the  construc- 
tion of  wheels,  the  form  of  cars  and  carriao;es,  the  weight  of  loads,  and  all 
other  matters  ;ind  things  in  relation  to  the  use  of  said  road,  shall  be  in  con- 
formity to  such  rules,  regulations,  and  provisions,  as  the  directors  shall, 
from  time  to  time,  prescribe  and  direct:  Provided,  however,  That  if,  at  the 
expiration  often  years  from  and  after  the  completion  of  said  road,  the  nett 
income  or  receipts  from  tolls,  taking  the  ten  years  aforesaid  as  the  basis  of 
calculation,  shall  have  amounted  to  more  than  12  per  cent,  per  annum  upon 
the  cost  of  the  road,  the  Legislature  may  take  measures  to  alter  and  reduce 
the  rate  of  tolls,  in  such  manner  as  to  take  off  the  overplus  for  the  next  ten 
years — calculating  the  amount  of  transportation  upon  the  road  to  be  tlie 
same  as  the  ten  preceding  years  ;  and  at  the  expiration  of  every  ten  years 
thereafter,  the  same  proceeding  niay  be  luul :   Pynvidcd,fi(rthfT,Tb^t\\\i^. 


[  Rep.  No.   1^1.  ]  1  1 

Legislaturo  shall  not  at  any  time  so  rednce  the  tolls  as  to  produce  less  tlian 
12  per  ceutum  upon  the  cost  of  the  said  rail-road,  without  the  consent  of  the 
said  company ;  and  no  otlicr  rail-road  than  the  one  hereby  t^ranted  shall, 
within  fifty  years  from  tiie  passage  of  this  act,  be  authorized  to  be  made,  lead- 
ing from  the  Oiiio  river,  or  Mississippi  river,  commencing  below  the  mouth 
of  the  Illinois  river,  to  anv  place  within  ten  miles  of  the  northerly  termi- 
nation of  the  rail-road  hereby  established :  Provided,  That  the  said  rail-road 
shall  be  com-ncnced  in  five  years,  and  completed  v/itliin  twenty  years  from 
the  passage  of  this  act. 

Sec-j'.  6.  The  directors  of  the  said  company,  for  the  time  being,  are 
hereby  authorized  to  erect  toll-houses,  establish  gates,  appoint  toll-gatherers, 
and  demand  toll  upon  the  road,  when  complete,  and  upon  such  parts  thereof 
as  shall  from  time  to  time  be  completed. 

Sect.  7.  The  said  company  shall  be  holden  to  pay  all  damages  that 
may  arise  to  any  person  or  persons,  corporation  or  corporations,  by  taking 
their  land  for  said  rail -road,  when  it  cannot  be  obtained  by  voluntary  agree- 
ment, to  be  estimated  and  recovered  in  the  manner  provided  by  law  for  the 
recovery  of  damages  happening  bv  laying  out  highways. 

Sect.  S.  When  the  lands  or  'other  property,  or  estate  of  any  feme  co- 
vert, infant,  or  person  non  compos  mentis  shall  be  necessary  for  the  con- 
struction of  said  rail-road,  the  husband  of  such  feme  covert,  and  the  guar- 
dian of  such  infant,  or  person  no)i  compos  mentis  may  release  all  damages 
for  any  lands  or  estate  taken  and  appropriated  as  aforesaid,  as  they  might  do 
if  the  same  were  holden  by  them  in  their  own  right  respectively. 

Sect.  9.  If  any  person  shall  v/ilfuily,  maliciously,  or  wantonly,  and 
contrary  to  law,  oi3Struct  the  passage  of  any  carriage  on  said  rail-road,  or 
in  any  way  spoil,  injure,  or  destroy  said  rail-road,  in  any  part  thereof,  or 
any  thing  !x4onging  thereto,  or  anyanaterial  or  instruments  to  be  employed 
m  the  construction,  or  for  the  use  of  said  railroad,  he,  she,  or  they,  or  any 
person  or  persons  assisting,  aiding,  or  abetting  in  such  trespass,  shall  for- 
feit and  pay  to  said  company,  for  every  such  "ofll'uce,  treble  ^uch  damages 
as  shall  be  proved  before  the  justice,  court,  or  jury,  before  whom  the  trial 
shall  be  had,  to  be  sued  for  and  recovered  before  any  justice,  or  any  court 
proper  to  try  the  same,  by  the  treasurer  of  the  corporation,  or  other  officer 
whom  they  may  direct,  to  the  use  of  said  company:  and  such  offender  or 
otlenders  shall  be  liable  to  indictment  by  the  grand  jury  for  the  county  within 
which  such  trespass  sliall  have  been  conmiitled,  for  any  olfence  or  offences 
contrary  to  the  above  provisions;  and  on  the  conviction  thereof,  before  any 
court  competent  to  try  the  same,  shall  pay  a  fine  not  exceeding  one  hun- 
dred nor  less  thaii  thirty  dollars,  to  the  use  of  the  people  of  the  State  of 
Illinois,  or  may  be  inij.risoned  for  a  term  not  exceeding  one  year,  at  the 
discretion  oi  the  court  before  whom  the  conviction  may  be  had. 

Sect.  10.  Th"  annual  meeting  of  the  members  of  said  company  shall 
be  holden  on  the  second  Monday  in  December,  in  each  year,  at  Yandalia, 
or  such  other  place  as  the  directors  for  the  time  being  may  appoint,  at 
which  meeting  the  directors  shall  be  chosen  by  ballot,  each  proprietor  being 
entitled  to  as  many  votes  as  he  holds  shares ;  and  any  two  of  the  individ- 
uals named  in  tlie  first  section  of  this  act  are  hereby  authorized  to  call  the 
first  meeting  of  said  company,  by  giving  notice  in  some  public  nev/spaper 
published  at  the  place  where  such  meeting  is  to  be  held,  of  tiie  time,  place, 
und  purpose  of  such  meetincf,  at  least  ten  days  before  the  time  mentioned 
in  sucli  notice. 


12  r  Rep.  No.  vn.  ] 

Sect.  11.  If  the  said  rail-road,  in  the  course  thereof,  shall  cross  any 
river,  canal,  turnpike,  or  other  hio:lnvay,  the  said  rail-road  shall  he  so  con- 
structed, as  not  to  impede  or  obstruct  the  safe  and  convenient  use  of  such 
river,  canal,  turnpike,  or  other  hi^diway.  And  said  company,  hereby  cre- 
ated, may  construct  a  lateral  rail-road  from  Belleville,  tin-ough  Lebanon, 
in  St.  Clair  county,  to  the  nearest  practical  point  of  said  Central  Rail-road, 
which  lateral  rail  road  may  be  made  and  constructed  in  the  same  manner, 
and  the  work  progress  in  the  proportion  of  the  work  done  or.  the  main 
central  rail-road,  until  the  same  is  completed,  to  be  subject  to  the  same  rules 
and  regulations  when  completed,  tliat  the  main  road  is  by  this  act. 

Sect.  12.  It  shall  be  lawful  for  the  Legislature  of  this  State,  at  any 
time  during  th(^  continuance  of  the  charter  of  the  said  rail -road,  after  the  ex- 
piration of  twenty-five  years  from  the  openiiig  lor  use  of  the  rail-road  herein 
provided  to  be  made,  to  purchase  of  the  said  company  the  said  rail-road, 
and  all  the  franchise,  rights,  and  privileges  of  the  said  company,  by  paying 
them  therefor  the  amount  expended  in  making  said  rail  road:  and  in  case, 
at  the  time  of  purchase,  the  said  company  shall  not  have  received  a  nett 
income  equal  to  twelve  per  cent,  per  annum,  on  the  said  expenditures,  from 
the  time  of  the  payment  thereof  by  the  stockholders,  by  payinii;  the  company 
such  additional  simi  as,  together  with  the  tolls  which  they  sliall  have  received 
from  the  said  rail-road,  will  be  equal  to  a  nett  profit  of  twelve  per  cent,  per 
annrnn  on  the  cost  of  said  rail-road,  from  the  date  of  the  payment  thereof 
by  the  stockholders  of  the  said  corporation,  to  the  time  of  such,  purchase. 

Sect.  13.  The  said  company  are  hereby  authoriz-^d  to  extend  the  said 
rail-road  herein  provided  for,  from  the  Illinois  river  to  Galena,  in  this  State  : 
Hrovided.  The  roiUe  proposed  to  be  taken  shall  he  surveyed  and  located 
within  four  years  from  July  next,  and  the  whole  rail-road  completed  within 
the  tune  limited  in  the  fifth  section  of  this  act. 

Sect.  14.  It  shall  be  lawful  for  said  company  to  hicrease  their  capital 
stock  to  an  c\mount  sufiicient  to  extend  and  complete  the  rail-road  authorized 
by  this  act,  whenever  the  company  shall  deem  it  expedient,  by  a  vote  of  the 
stockholders  at  a  meeting  specially  notified  for  the  purpose,  to  be  assessed 
to  the  same  amount  as  the  shares  which  are  already  created :  Provided, 
That  the  additional  number  of  shares  so  to  be  created  shall  not  exceed  ten 
thousand  ;  and  \hv  proprietors  of  the  shares  already  created,  for  the  lime 
being,  shall  have  the  option  of  subscribing  to  said  additional  shares,  in  pro- 
})ortion  to  the  amount  which  they  may  hold,  respectively,  of  the  said  ori- 
ginal shares. 

Sect.  15.  In  case  the  State  shall  purchase  the  rail  road  authorized  to 
be  constructed  by  this  act,  the  limitation  provided  in  the  fifth  .section  of  this 
act  shall  cease,  and  he  of  no  effect. 

Sect.  16.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  said  rail-road  company,  from  year 
to  year,  to  make  re})ort  to  the  Legislature  of  their  receipts  and  expenditures 
on  said  rait -road,  and  branches  authorized  to  be  constructed  under  the 
provisions  of  this  act. 

Se(  T.  17.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  said  company  to  reserve  of  said  cap- 
ital stock  to  the  amount  of  five  hundred  thousand  dollars,  to  be  dispo.sed  of 
m  this  Slate:  which  stock,  so  reserved,  the  president  and  directors  of  said 
company  shall,  within  four  months  after  the  said  company  shall  have  been 
organized,  oficr  for  sale,  by  causing  books  to  be  opened  at  the  .several  places 
hereinafter  named,  and  under  the  direction  of  the  following  commissioners, 
namely:  at  Ottowa,  under  the  direction  of  Lovel  Kimball  ;  at  IJloomington, 


[  Rep.  No.   121.   J  KJ 

under  the  direction  of  M.  L.  Covall ;  at  Sprintrtield,  under  the  direction  of 
William  (Carpenter;  at  Jacksonville,  under  tlie  direction  of  Jojui  Henry;  at 
Decatur,  under  the  directi«)n  ot  Isaac  Puo;|i ;  at  Slielbyville,  under  the 
direction  of  Joseph  Oliver;  at  Hillsborough,  under  the  direction  of  Chris 
tian  B.  Block bu rjjer :  at  Vandalia,  under  the  direction  ot  James  Black; 
at  Greenville,  under  the  direction  of  James  Bradford  ;  'at  Carlyle  under 
the  direction  of  Joshua  T.  Bradley;  at  Salem,  under  the  direction  of 
Mark  Tully;  at  Mount  Vernon,  under  the  direction  of  Harvey  B.  Pace; 
at  McLeansborough,  under  the  direction  of  Milton  Carpenter;  at  JNew 
Nashville,  under  the  direction  of  John  U.Wood;  at  Frankfort,  under 
the  direction  of  Johnson  Wren  ;  at  Equality,  under  the  direction  of  Daniel 
Wood;  at  Darwin,  under  the  direction  of  Uri  Manly;  at  Alton,  under  th»- 
direction  oi  J.  A.  Townsend  ;  and  at  Belleville,  under  the  direction  of  John 
D.  Hughes ;  and  the  said  commissioners,  at  tlie  places  above  named,  shall 
receive  subscriptions  for  said  stock,  which  books  shall  be  kept  open  for  the 
space  of  at  least  sixty  days,  or  until  the  whole  of  said  stock,  so  ottered  ii)r 
sale,  is  taken  ;  and  whenever,  and  as  soon  as  twenty-five  thousand  dollars 
thereof  shall  have  been  subscribed,  at  any  ono  of  the  before-mentioned  places, 
the  books  at  such  places  shall  thereupon  be  closed :  one  dollar  on  each 
share  so  subscribed  shall  be  paid  by  the  subscriber  at  the  time  of  subscri- 
bing; and  no  peison  shall  during  the  first  thirty  days  after  the  opening  of 
the  books  as  aforesaid,  be  allowedi  to  subscribe  for  more  than  five  shares  in 
his  or  her  own  name ;  and  any  and  so  much  of  said  stock  so  offered  for  sale  a« 
said  places  as  aforesaid,  as  shall  remain  unsubscribed  after  sixty  days  from 
the  time  of  opening  said  books,  may  be  disposed  of  in  such  manner  and  at 
such  time  as  the  said  president  and  directors  of  the  company  shall  deem 
proper;  public  notice  of  the  time  and  place  when  and  where  said  book.*; 
shall  be  opened  tor  the  purposes  aforesaid  shall  be  given  in  three  or  more 
newspapers  of  general  circulation  published  in  this  State;  and  vacancies 
occasioned  by  death,  or  refusal  to  serve,  of  the  above-named  connnissioners, 
shall  be  filled  by  the  president  and  directors  of  .said  company. 

Sect.  IS.  Tliis  act  of  incorporation  shall  continue  in  Ibrce  for  the  term 
of  sixty  years  from  and  after  the  passage  thereof,  shall  be  deemed  and  taken 
to  be  a  public  act,  and  be  in  force  from  and  after  its  passage. 

JAMES  SEMPLE, 
•S/JecrAer  of  the  House  of  Rep/'eseniaiives. 

A.  M.  JENKINS, 

>Spcakc7-  of  ike  Senate. 
A]»proved,  I'ith  Januarv,  IS3G. 

JOSEPFI  DUNCAN. 

St-\te  of  Ili.inoi.s,   } 
Devnrtment  of  S/aic.  S 

I,  Alexander  P.  Field,  Secretary  of  State  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  do 
he-eby  certify,  that  the  foregoing  act  is  a  true  and  perfect  copy  of  the 
enrolled  bill  on  file  in  my  olfice. 

In  testimony  wherriof,  Thave  hereunto  signed  my  name  and  affixed  the 
[l.  8.1  seal  of  State,  at  Vandalia,  the  18th  Januarv,  1836. 

A.  P.  FIELD, 

>Sccreiary  of  Sia^'e. 


14  [  Rep.  No.   121.  ] 

At  ameetinafof  the  board  of  directors  at  Alton.  February  13,  1836,  it 
was 

Voted,  That  tbe  president  and  treasurer  of  this  company  be  authorized 
10  proceed  to  Wabi)in2:ton  city,  for  tlie  purpose  of  procunng  snch  aid  from 
the  General  Government,  by  way  of  donations  of  land,  or  pre-emption  rights 
thereto,  as  may  further  the  objects  of  this  company  :  and  that  they  have 
power  to  make  such  contracts  with  the  General  Government,  or  any  au- 
thorized officer  or  department  thereof,  in  relation  to  carrying  the  mail, 
transporting  the  troops,  munitions  of  war,  and  property  of  the  United 
States,  as  they  may  deem  it  advisable  and  most  beneficial  for  this  company. 

Voted,  That  the  memorial  prepared  by  this  company  be  presented  to 
Congress  by  the  president  and  treasurer,  and  (hat  they  use  all  the  means 
in  their  power  to  effect  the  objects  contemplated  therein. 

This  certifies  that  A.  M.  .Tenkins  is  president,  and  D.  B.  Holbrook  trea- 
surer of  the  Illinois  Central  Rail-road  Company. 

MILES  A.  GILBERT, 
Cleik  of  the  lUinois  Central  Rail-road  Company. 


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